Minions and Monsters topped the Independence Day chart and still missed the mark Hollywood needed. Universal and Illumination’s 1920s Hollywood prequel opened to $36 million Friday through Monday and $61 million since Wednesday, well under the $80 million five-day target tracked into the weekend, according to Variety.
That five-day haul is the softest start in the Despicable Me universe, trailing even the original 2010 film’s unadjusted $56 million traditional weekend. Recent holiday peers Minions: The Rise of Gru and Despicable Me 4 each cleared about $122 million to $123 million over the same five-day stretch.
Minions and Monsters faces franchise fatigue
Critics and audiences still liked the movie. Directed by series co-creator Pierre Coffin, Minions and Monsters holds a franchise-best 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore. The problem is cadence. Seven Despicable Me chapters in 16 years leave little scarcity, FranchiseRe publisher David A. Gross told Variety, calling the result profitable but a misfire.
Overseas cushioned the blow. The film took $86 million internationally over the weekend and $98 million to date, lifting the worldwide total to about $159.8 million against an $85 million production budget. Universal domestic distribution president Jim Orr still pitched a long summer run on the strength of those reaction scores.
Holiday calendar and Supergirl’s collapse
July 4 falling on Saturday helped mute the entire marketplace. Industry ticket sales ran about $121 million Friday through Sunday, below the $150 million to $200 million holiday bands Rentrak cites historically. Families did not abandon theaters entirely. Toy Story 5 nearly matched the Minions Friday-Sunday take with $31 million and sits at $366 million domestic and $764 million worldwide.
Warner Bros.’ Supergirl fell 77% in its second weekend to $8.6 million, leaving $57.4 million domestic and $99.5 million global against a $170 million budget. Variety projects theatrical losses of at least $100 million to $120 million if the film stalls near $200 million worldwide. Angel Studios’ Young Washington opened third with $19.3 million and an A CinemaScore, timed to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
What the soft frame means next
Summer 2026 remains ahead of 2025 but slipped further behind 2019 after the holiday setback. Disney’s live-action Moana arrives next, with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day still queued to push the season toward a $4 billion finish. For Entertainment desks watching IP fatigue, Minions and Monsters is the clearest signal yet that even beloved yellow chaos agents need scarcity, not just reviews.